


Restful Sleep

by kayisdreaming



Series: Odin Sphere Ficlets [5]
Category: Odin Sphere
Genre: (just a little tho; Ingway standard), F/M, Self Loathing, fluff and stuff like that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-20
Updated: 2017-07-20
Packaged: 2018-12-04 10:29:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11553303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kayisdreaming/pseuds/kayisdreaming
Summary: It's never fun when you want to go to bed and there's someone else in it.





	Restful Sleep

Mercedes was exhausted. No, exhausted didn’t even begin to describe it. She had given up on flying for now, and was perhaps too grateful that she had left her bow in her room. All day she had been handling issues in the fairy kingdom—from preparing the castle to getting the soldiers ready for war to coming up with a way to discourage frogs who might take advantage of things while so many were away. All she wanted now was sleep.

Opening the door to her room, she was greeted with darkness. It had been dark when she had been summoned this morning, so there hadn’t been any point in drawing the curtains. Well, it wasn’t like she needed them anyway—she knew where her bed was and that was what mattered.

With a sigh, she rested her hand on the bedpost. She half-considered changing her clothes, but that would require encouraging one of the lamps to light and looking in the drawers and fighting her clothes and that was so unappealing. She just wanted to lie down.

Well, where was the harm in acting like a child again? It wasn’t like anyone would judge.

With a sigh, she flopped onto the bed.

Instead of a nice and overly-plush mattress, the surface beneath her was some mixture of hard and soft and the fabric was far rougher than her silky sheets. She shifted with a whine, only to find the other part bonier.

And it _groaned_! Mercedes squeaked, bouncing backward and landing hard against one of the bedposts.

“T’was said the wings made fairies light.” The deep voice sounded so familiar, and she could feel and hear as the owner shifted on the mattress. “’Tis strange to find it a lie.”

The sheer indignation at the insult was enough to make her wings glow, despite her exhaustion. It faintly illuminated the mattress and the unwelcome occupant. The man was taller than her, so the glow made his cheeks seem more prominent, his eyes nearly completely obscured. But Mercedes knew the shape of those lips, the way he held his head. Sure, it was a little more foreign with his hair completely free and unhidden. But she couldn’t forget.

She blinked, dumbfounded. “You . . .you . . .”

Ingway tilted his head, those odd golden eyes reflecting the green of her wings just slightly. “I was having such a pleasant foray in the dreamlands. One would think the Fairy Queen might have more consideration toward her guests.”

Mercedes felt her face heat up. “You are _not_ a guest! You . . .  you—you are encroaching on my bed!”

She could see his lips turn up as he shifted to cross his legs. He rested his elbow on his knee and his chin in his hand. Regrettably, it pretty much made them eye-level. She wished she could just levitate over the bed so she could look down on him and properly scold him.

“I thought you would be happier to see me.” He mused.

She scowled, crossing her arms and looking away. But she _still_ couldn’t be rid of that stupid blush. She couldn’t just _tell_ him that she missed him. That, even though war with the Demon Lord on the horizon, that she still thought of him. That every frog she saw she thought could be him. That she had hoped to see him in case the worst happened in the ensuing battle. Knowing would only make him arrogant. Well . . . more arrogant.

“Tell me, what preoccupies the Fairy Queen so?” Ingway asked, and she could practically _hear_ the smirk.

She crossed her arms tighter, and she could see the shadows flicker as her wings fluttered just a little. “I’m thinking of ways to get you to shut up.” She muttered, though there was no power in it.

“’Tis unlikely.”

She wanted to be mad at him, and let the silence between them linger as if it would show it enough. After all they had gone through together, he had just run off the moment he had legs that wouldn’t stick to every surface. And now, like nothing had ever happened, he was in her bed. She could probably chide him for years about just showing up in a fairy’s bed, but she doubted he would listen.

More so, she doubted she had the time for such a thing.

“Why are you here?” She asked, voice quiet.

He didn’t respond for quite some time. “I was tired.”

Words could not explain her irritation. “That’s not—oh, forget it. “After all, she hadn’t known anything about him when he was a frog. How could she expect him to share anything now? It was likely just a convenience. As convenient as travelling with a fairy queen.

“If it of any consolation, I was _very_ tired.”

She couldn’t tolerate this—she was a queen, she wasn’t supposed to. No, she wouldn’t.

“Fine. Since I am _clearly_ not tired, I’m going elsewhere.” She pushed herself off the mattress, feeling her fists clench so hard that it hurt as she spun away. “Make yourself at home—though it appears you already have.”

“Mercedes, wait.” She could feel him grab her arm. His grip was firm, but not painful. But it was certainly impossible to resist as he pulled her back to the bed, so slow and cautious but insistent.

She couldn’t make herself pull away, even as he wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. She could feel his heart beat, and feel his breath as it shifted the loose hairs in her braid. They had never been so close (well, not like one _could_ with a frog), but a part of her felt like this was how it always should have been.

“Stay . . . please.” He muttered. There was no longer that arrogance, just a soft request from a tone so surprisingly meek that she could hardly attribute it to him.

“Will you stay?” She asked, slowly bringing her fingers up to rest on his.

Silence again. One so long and so uncomfortable that she thought that he had fallen asleep again.

“Ingway?”

“Only for tonight.” He whispered, pressing his lips against her shoulder.

Likely the same cause as before. She sighed. “Yes, well, I have big plans too.” Well, she _did_ , but it always seemed likely that he would chide her for it. He would probably tell her how stupid she was, and convince her of her foolishness.

“I know.” She could feel him exhale against her skin, his hold tighten around her waist. “’Tis the lot of royalty.”

She shifted in his hold, doing her best to face him. He was accommodating, but the way they were seated certainly was awkward and uncomfortable enough for the both of them. But she wanted to see him for this. “You’ll come back, when you’re done?”

He opened his mouth, only to close it once more. “If my Queen commands.”

She frowned, putting on the most serious face she could muster. “I do.”

Ingway chuckled, taking slow and cautious movements to shift them into a position more comfortable. They were lying down now on her bed, fingers laced. It still didn’t seem quite right, and she nuzzled much closer, claiming the arm he had intended for his pillow as one for herself. He shifted one of his legs, entwining it with one of hers.

It was so comforting, feeling his breath and his skin touching hers. To know that he was still okay. Her exhaustion was catching up with her now, making it impossible to keep her eyes open.

She let out a breath, shifting better into place. “Ingway?”

“Mm?”

“Why did you come back?”

 

 

Perhaps it was cowardice that drove him to wait until her breaths fell into the slow rhythm of sleep to answer her. He had wondered that himself as he found himself wandering to Ringford, as if his feet had a mind of their own. He had tried to convince himself of his foolishness as he disguised himself, watching her take on the role of Queen that seemed to suit her more than it had ever seemed to suit anyone he had ever met. He watched her as she gave orders, and yet gave her people the consideration they deserved. He had watched her grow, and yet she as she was now seemed so wondrous that he could hardly imagine that he had ever accompanied such a wonder.

He didn’t really know what brought him to her room. Habit, perhaps, after watching her for so long at the throne and going to her room to the little makeshift bed she had made for him. Back then, she didn’t want him to get attacked by concerned fairies, or something like that.

He had been so surprised to see that bed still there. He had thought to blame her business, but a part of him refused that option. The same part that yearned to be by her side, if only for a little while longer. 

He had gone to her bed to get some fill of the presence that he thought he would never get in person. This room felt most like her, the bed more so. In its warmth and comfort, he had unintentionally fallen asleep.

He knew he couldn’t stay here. He knew that. But, since he _had_ been caught, he knew he could at least embrace it. He would be gone in the morning, far before she woke up. She would think it no more than a dream. She would think no more of him.

“I . . . I wanted to see you.” He whispered, pressing a kiss to her hair. “Lest I never be able to again.”

**Author's Note:**

> So this was gonna slide into nsfw territory, but I don't think I got my romance-only fill yet. Someday we'll slide over there. 
> 
> Also, next we're gonna slide into sadder territory with the other couples. Since it's mostly sad stuff, it'll probably take longer to write.


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